For a fine dining experience in or around Sonoma, the restaurant at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn is the best bet. It’s the obvious choice for a weekend at the spa, but it’s also a great destination for special occasions, and valet parking is free. Have a drink in the remodeled bar or step into the dining room with dark walls, warm lighting and a sexy aura. In warmer weather, diners can eat outdoors overlooking the pool. The location informs chef Andrew Cain’s intricately conceived combinations such as a salad of asparagus with gribiche tweaked with frisee, radishes, nasturtium and crisp prosciutto, and spiked with pickled rhubarb. Striped bass may be embellished with Dungeness crab mousseline and saffron-poached cipollini onions with lobster emulsion. Cain’s talent also shines on the eight-course tasting menu.

Michael Bauer has been following the food and wine scene at the San Francisco Chronicle for more than 28 years. Before working at The Chronicle, he was a reporter and editor at the Kansas City Star and the Dallas Times Herald.